Fire officials say bagel shop fire likely accidental

Published 7:40 am, Friday, July 1, 2016

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (AP) — Fire officials say a blaze that consumed a bagel shop in Newburyport, prompting firefighters from Massachusetts and New Hampshire to respond, was caused by mulch ignited by a cigarette.

State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said Friday that investigators found no signs the June 28 fire was intentionally set. They concluded "improperly discarded smoking materials" likely landed in a mulch bed located against the deck of the bagel shop, starting the blaze.

Officials say the nearby parking lot had evidence of other improperly discarded cigarettes and neighbors told investigators there had been previous fires in the same mulch bed in recent days.

Firefighters from about a dozen communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire had responded to the fire, which damaged Abraham's Bagels and Pizza and a neighboring law office.